Multimedia file upload

ABSTRACT

A method of handling multimedia data in which packets of a multimedia file from a first computer are received by a second computer. In case, a sub-portion of the multimedia file, representative of the multimedia file, was received by the second computer, before the entire file was received by the second computer, that sub portion is handled by the second computer transmitting to the first computer, although the entire file was not received by the second computer at the time of the transmission of the result. Additionally, an image processing server is described comprising: a network interface adapted to receive packets, a communication manager adapted to manage reception of multimedia files through the input interface and to conclude when a sub-portion of a multimedia file, representative of the multimedia file received, and an image handling unit configured to handle said sub-portions.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/640,551 filed on Jul. 2, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/328,984 filed on Dec. 5, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No.9,699,242, which claims the benefit of priority from U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/012,065 filed on Dec. 7, 2007.

The contents of the above applications are all incorporated by referenceas if fully set forth herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to multimedia file processing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The bandwidth available for computer communications has increased inrecent years. In many countries, people commonly connect to the Internetwith a downlink bandwidth of at least 0.5 mbps (Megabits per second) andan uplink bandwidth of at least 64 kbps. Many applications, however,require large amounts of bandwidth, such as transfer of images and videostreams. Uploading an image of 0.1-2 Mbytes typically takes 1-2 minutesand therefore users often are frustrated by the slow response whenuploading images or other multimedia files.

Several methods for shortening the response time m transfer of imageswere developed over a decade ago, when download speeds were alsorelatively low.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,200,858 to Benjamin et al., titled “Data distributionsystem”, the disclosure of which is entirely incorporated herein byreference, describes a method for transmitting images for diagnosticpurposes. The method includes downloading an applet to a user and usingthe applet to download images in a manner allowing gradual improvementof their quality. The applet also allows the user to stop the downloadin the middle when the quality of the image is sufficient in the user'seyes.

Other more recent solutions have been suggested specifically foruploading of images.

US patent publication 2005/0007625 to Garcia, titled: “Method and systemfor distributed image processing and storage”, the disclosure of whichis entirely incorporated herein by reference, describes software thataids photographers in processing and uploading images to a host site.One option provided by the software allows the uploading of thumbnailimages to a website for selection by customers. In response to requestsfor selected images from customers, the high resolution copy of theimage is provided to the customer.

US patent publication 2003/0063770 to Svendsen et al., titled“Network-Based Photosharing Architecture”, the disclosure of which isentirely incorporated herein by reference, describes a photo sharingnetwork based on uploading thumbnail images.

US patent publication 2007/0035764 to Aldrich et al., titled: “Systemand Method for Uploading Files”, the disclosure of which is entirelyincorporated herein by reference, describes an upload manager installedon a client computer. In response to an upload request, the uploadmanager generates a thumbnail which is uploaded immediately and thenuploads the complete image at a later time when resources are available.

Uploading from many clients concurrently may also overload the server.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,181,623 to Golubchik et al., titled: “Scalable Wide-AreaUpload System and Method”, the disclosure of which is entirelyincorporated herein by reference, describes a method of timing uploadsto avoid overloading the server.

Further methods for download of images have also been suggested.

US patent publication 2006/0195507 to Back et al., titled “Method andSystem for Providing Users a Lower Fidelity Alternative Until a HigherFidelity Experience is Available”, the disclosure of which is entirelyincorporated herein by reference, describes downloading a low fidelityimage before downloading a high fidelity image in order to reduce thewaiting time of a human viewing the downloaded file.

One drawback of these solutions is the requirement for utilizingadditional software on the client computer. Most users, however, do notagree to install additional software on their computer due to safety andstability considerations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of some embodiments of the present invention relates to amethod of uploading a multimedia unit from a client to a server or othercomputer. The method includes having a user indicate a multimedia fileto be uploaded and initiate the upload according to standard web filetransfer methods. During the file upload, the file is examined todetermine whether it includes a thumbnail or other abbreviated versionor representative portion of the multimedia unit, and if such anabbreviated version is identified the abbreviated version is extractedand provided for server processing before the upload is completed.Optionally, the upload is stopped in the middle after the abbreviatedversion was entirely uploaded. Thus, the basic information of the imageis uploaded very fast, allowing the server to respond to the user with afast response. In some embodiments of the invention, the method iscarried out without requiring installation or otherwise running of anydedicated software for managing the upload of multimedia files on theclient computer. It is noted that in some embodiments of the inventionthe upload of the image is performed on the client computer by standardsoftware which does not differentiate between different types of filesand particularly does not differentiate between media and non-mediafiles.

Optionally, the user is not notified that the upload was stopped in themiddle, but rather is given the impression that the upload wascompleted.

In some embodiments of the invention, the multimedia file comprises animage acquired by a camera which also generates the thumbnail from theimage. In other embodiments, the multimedia file comprises a videostream and the representative portion comprises a single frame of thevideo stream, a limited number of frames of the stream or an audioportion of the video stream.

An aspect of some embodiments of the present invention relates to amethod of comparing images in which a first image on a first computer iscompared to a second image on a second computer. A reduced size versionof the first image is transferred to the second computer and thecomparison is performed by the second computer based on the reduced sizeversion of the first image. While using a complete version of the firstimage would provide a more accurate comparison, in some applications ithas been determined, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentinvention, that a sufficiently accurate result can be achieved with areduced size image, which may enjoy much faster upload. In someembodiments of the invention, the image comparison method used is a fastmethod which allows for a higher level of false positives in order toachieve higher speeds. Given such a method, the degradation in qualitydue to use of a thumbnail rather than a full image in the comparison isexpected to be negligible in most cases. Using a combination of a fastupload and a fast search, a search process can provide results within avery short response time.

Optionally, the first computer is a client computer and the secondcomputer is a server computer.

In some embodiments of the invention, the provided search resultsinclude a relatively large number of images, optionally more than 50,more than 100 or even more than 500 images. Optionally, in displayingthe results, more than 30, more than 80 or even more than 90 images aredisplayed together, allowing the user to determine which images aredesired.

There is therefore provided in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the invention, a method of handling multimedia data, comprisingreceiving packets of a multimedia file from a first computer, by asecond computer; concluding that a sub-portion of the multimedia file,representative of the multimedia file, was received by the secondcomputer, before the entire file was received by the second computer;handling the sub-portion by the second computer responsive to concludingthat the sub-portion was received; and transmitting to the firstcomputer or to a third computer a result of the handling of thesub-portion, although the entire file was not received by the secondcomputer at the time of the transmission of the result.

Optionally, the multimedia file comprises an image file. Optionally, thesub-portion of the multimedia file comprises a low resolution version ofthe image. Optionally, the sub-portion of the multimedia file comprisesa thumbnail image. Optionally the method includes transmitting to thefirst computer an instruction to display a request for a multimediafile, on a display of the first computer, and wherein receiving thepackets from the first computer comprises receiving in response totransmitting the instruction. Optionally, concluding that thesub-portion was received by the second computer comprises receiving anotification from the first computer. Optionally, concluding that thesub-portion was received by the second computer comprises determiningthat a number of bytes expected to include the sub-portion, werereceived by the second computer.

Optionally, concluding that the sub-portion was received by the secondcomputer comprises determining that the transmission was carried outover a period sufficient to include the entire sub-portion. Optionally,concluding that the sub-portion was received by the second computer isperformed by the second computer examining the content of the receivedpackets. Optionally the method includes proceeding operation of thefirst computer as if the transmission of the multimedia file wascompleted responsive to the transmitting of the result to the firstcomputer, although the entire file was not received by the secondcomputer. Optionally, handling the sub-portion comprises searching forimages similar to the image of the file, in an image database.Optionally, handling the sub-portion comprises providing the sub-portionwithin a web page provided by the second computer to the first computer.

Optionally the method includes stopping the transmission of themultimedia file responsive to the concluding. Optionally, thetransmitted result of the handling appears as if the handling wasperformed on the entire file. Optionally, transmitting the resultcomprises transmitting the result to the first computer. Optionally,receiving the packets from the first computer comprises receivingpackets transmitted by the first computer by a program which does notdifferentiate between media and non-media files. Optionally,transmitting a result of the handling comprises transmitting amultimedia file not identical to the multimedia files from which aportion was received.

There is further provided in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention, a method of handling multimedia data, comprisingreceiving packets of a multimedia file from a first computer, by asecond computer; concluding that a sub-portion of the multimedia file,representative of the multimedia file, was received by the secondcomputer, before the entire file was received by the second computer;stopping the receiving of packets of the multimedia file beforereceiving the entire file; and handling the sub-portion by the secondcomputer responsive to concluding that the sub-portion was received.

Optionally, the multimedia file comprises an image file. Optionally, thesub-portion of the multimedia file comprises a low resolution version ofthe image. Optionally, the sub-portion of the multimedia file comprisesa thumbnail image. Optionally, the method includes transmitting to thefirst computer an instruction to display a request for a multimediafile, on a display of the first computer, and wherein receiving thepackets from the first computer comprises receiving in response totransmitting the instruction. Optionally, concluding that thesub-portion was received by the second computer comprises receiving anotification from the first computer. Optionally, concluding that thesub-portion was received by the second computer comprises determiningthat a number of bytes expected to include the sub-portion, werereceived by the second computer.

Optionally, concluding that the sub-portion was received by the secondcomputer comprises determining that the transmission was carried outover a period sufficient to include the entire sub-portion. Optionally,concluding that the sub-portion was received by the second computer isperformed by the second computer examining the content of the receivedpackets.

Optionally, handling the sub-portion comprises searching for imagessimilar to the image of the file, in an image database. Optionally,handling the sub-portion comprises providing the sub-portion within aweb page provided by the second computer to the first computer.Optionally, stopping the receiving of the packets comprises stoppingresponsive to the concluding. Optionally, receiving the packets from thefirst computer comprises receiving packets transmitted by the firstcomputer by a program which does not differentiate between media andnon-media files.

There is further provided in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention, a method of handling multimedia data, comprisingreceiving, at a first computer, from a user, a name of a multimedia fileto be uploaded to a second computer; transmitting packets of themultimedia file by the first computer, to the second computer,responsive to the received file name; and receiving, at the firstcomputer, from the second computer, result of handling the multimediafile, based on a representative sub-portion of the file included in thetransmitted packets, although the packets transmitted by the firstcomputer did not include the entire multimedia file, at the time ofreceiving the result.

Optionally, receiving the name of the multimedia file comprisesreceiving without any separate indication of a sub-portion of themultimedia file, beyond what is included in the file itself. Optionally,transmitting the packets by the first computer comprises transmitting bya software which does not transmit multimedia and non-multimedia filesdifferently. Optionally, the result of the handling comprises aplurality of similar, but not identical, multimedia files. Optionally,transmitting the packets of the multimedia file comprises transmittingpackets for a predetermined amount of time, instructed by the secondcomputer.

Optionally, transmitting the packets of the multimedia file comprisestransmitting less than 10% of the file. Optionally, transmitting thepackets of the multimedia file comprises transmitting more than therepresentative sub-portion. Optionally, transmitting the packets of themultimedia file comprises transmitting packets of an image fileincluding a thumbnail, wherein transmitting the packets comprisestransmitting packets including the entire thumbnail together with aportion of the actual image. Optionally, transmitting the packets of themultimedia file comprises transmitting by a software which does notreview the content of files it transmits.

There is further provided in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention, an image processing server, comprising a networkinterface adapted to receive packets; a communication manager adapted tomanage reception of multimedia files through the input interface and toconclude when a sub-portion of a multimedia file, representative of themultimedia file, was received; and a image handling unit configured tohandle sub-portions concluded to have been received by the communicationmanager and to transmit a result of the handling through the networkinterface, although the entire file including the sub-portion was notreceived through the network interface at the time of the transmissionof the result.

Optionally, the network interface comprises an interface adapted toconnect to the Internet. Alternatively or additionally, the networkinterface comprises an Ethernet or IP interface. Optionally, themultimedia file comprises an image and the sub-portion of the multimediafile comprises a low resolution version of the image. Optionally, theimage handling unit comprises a search engine adapted to find imagessimilar to a received image.

There is further provided in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention, a method of searching an image database, comprisingreceiving a thumbnail image, by a search engine; and searching throughan image database by the search engine, for images similar to thethumbnail image.

Optionally, receiving the thumbnail image comprises receiving an imagerepresented by fewer than 30,000 pixels. Optionally, receiving thethumbnail image comprises receiving packets of a file including bothlarge image data and the thumbnail. Optionally, searching through theimage database comprises determining a plurality of parameters of thethumbnail image and comparing the parameters to respective parameters ofthe database images.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention will now be described in the following detaileddescription of exemplary embodiments of the invention and with referenceto the attached drawings, in which dimensions of components and featuresshown are chosen for convenience and clarity of presentation and are notnecessarily shown to scale. Generally, only structures, elements orparts that are germane to the discussion are shown in the figure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a communication setup, which maybenefit from methods in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of acts performed in uploading an image, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS Overview

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a communication setup 100, whichmay benefit from methods in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention. In setup 100, a server 102 runs an image handling program104, which provides image handling services to clients. Optionally,clients, such as client computer 110, provide image files 112 to imagehandling program 104 for handling. The transmission of images fromclient computer 110 to server 102 is optionally performed by a clientsoftware 114 running on client computer 110 and a server software 106running on server 102. The transmission of the images may be performedover substantially any communication network, for example, the Internet120. A memory 108 is optionally used by server 102 to store images.

Client software 114 is optionally a web browser, such as InternetExplorer™ or Moziila™. In some embodiments of the invention, inuploading files to server software 106, client software 114 does notdifferentiate between different types of files and, particularly,applies the same handling to image and non-image files. Server software106 and client software 114 optionally communicate in accordance withthe HTTP protocol. Server software 106 is optionally a standard webserver configured to perform the acts described with relation to FIG. 2.Optionally, the configuration is performed in the web pages supplied bythe web server, while the code of server software 106 is not altered toperform the method of FIG. 2. Alternatively or additionally, imagehandling program 104 is adapted to perform some of the acts of themethod of FIG. 2 and/or to control the operation of the acts by serversoftware 106.

Client computer 110 may be of substantially any type known in the art,including a desktop computer or a laptop computer. Furthermore, thetasks of client computer 110 may be performed by any other processingdevice having web browsing and/or other processing capabilities, such asa personal digital assistant (PDA) or a mobile phone (e.g., a cellularphone), which for purposes of brevity are referred to herein ascomputers.

Image Handling

Image handling program 104 may perform any of a plurality of imagehandling tasks, such as comparing of two images to determine the extentof similarity therebetween, finding a first image within a second imageand/or searching through a database of images, for example a databasestored in memory 108, for similar images. In some embodiments of theinvention, a search through a database for a similar image is performedin order to identify a subject included in a user-uploaded image in adatabase image having associated text identifying its content. Forexample, the search in the database may be used to identify a person,location, object, plant, animal, art work or other subject in anuploaded image. Alternatively or additionally, image handling program104 is adapted to display images to a human for analysis, for example sothe human can identify a subject or signs of disease. The image databasemay be very large and may include more than 100,000 images, more than amillion images or even more than 10 million images.

The search for similar images in the database may be performed usingsubstantially any suitable search method known in the art.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a user may upload anacquired image of a plant and receive in return a name of the plantbased on a search of the image in a database. Likewise, a user mayupload an image of a location and receive a map of the location. Afurther example relates to uploading an image of an appliance to aidtelephone service personnel in determining the specific device for whichservice is required.

Image handling program 104 may further display uploaded images on a website, optionally when a fast display of uploaded images is required, forexample in an auction or other interactive scenario.

File Upload

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of acts performed in uploading an image, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Serversoftware 106 transmits (202) an instruction to client software 114 todisplay to the user the possibility of uploading a file. The instructionis optionally transmitted (202) responsive to a request from clientsoftware 114 to receive a web page from server 102 and/or in response tothe user actuating a control on the web page indicating a desire toupload a file.

Client software 114 displays (204) to the user a request to attach afile, optionally together with a notice of the purpose of the file, forexample stating that the file is to be used in a search for similarimages in an image database. Upon attaching the file, client software114 begins transmitting (206) the file to server software 106. In someembodiments of the invention, the file is transmitted in packets, as isknown on the art. Upon receiving the transmitted packets of the file,server software 106 examines the received packets of the file todetermine whether the file includes a thumbnail of the image. If (208)the file includes a thumbnail, server software 106 continues (210) toreceive the packets until the thumbnail is completely received and thenserver software 106 terminates (212) the upload of the file. If (208),however, the file does not include a thumbnail, server software 106allows the file to be uploaded (214) in its entirety.

The uploaded thumbnail image, or the entire image if a thumbnail was notpresent, is extracted and provided (216) to image handling program 104for processing. Optionally, in parallel, the image is displayed to theuser. Optionally, in parallel, the image is transmitted to a thirdcomputer. Alternatively, the processing is performed within a shortperiod, such that the results of the processing are displayed to theuser within a reasonable response time from the point of view of theuser. In some embodiments of the invention, the processing time fromwhen the thumbnail was received until a result is provided to the clientfor display is on the average less than 10 seconds, or even less than 5seconds or two seconds. The upload time is optionally shorter than theprocessing time until a result is provided. Alternatively, the uploadtime is longer than the processing time, but optionally not much longer,for example not more than two or three times longer.

The thumbnail image is optionally represented by fewer than 100,000pixels or even fewer than 15,000 pixels. In some embodiments of theinvention, the thumbnail images have width and height which are bothshorter than 200 pixels.

Referring in detail to transmitting (202) the instruction to request theuser to indicate a file name, in some embodiments of the invention, theinstruction is provided together with a web page provided in response toa client provided URL of the web page. Thus, from the point of view ofclient software 114, it is merely carrying out instructions receivedwith a web page. The displaying (204) of the attachment request to theuser is optionally performed as a standard operation of client software114.

In some embodiments of the invention, in transmitting (206) the file toserver 102, client software 114 does not examine the contents of thefile and does not differentiate between different types of files, beyondpossibly their type as indicated by the extension of their name.

The file is optionally uploaded in a standard format, such as the EXIFheader format of the JPEG standard. Server software 106 optionallyreviews the uploaded file and identifies whether the header of the fileincludes a thumbnail in the intended field.

Optionally, the termination (212) is performed in a manner which givesthe user of client computer 110 the impression that the file wasreceived in its entirety. In some embodiments of the invention, inaccordance with a protocol governing the upload (e.g., HTTP, WSP orHTTPS), upon receiving each portion of the file it is up to the serverto send a request to the client for a further portion of the file. Whenserver 102 is to terminate the upload, server software 106 simply doesnot request additional portions of the file. In some embodiments of theinvention, server software 106 transmits an HTTP OK signal to the clientwhen it decides to terminate the upload. In some embodiments of theinvention, upon a decision to terminate the upload, server software 106transmits a different web page to the client than the page used duringthe upload. The different page may include for example results ofprocessing the uploaded image, a notification that the results will beprovided soon or an advertisement or “please wait” notice.

Optionally, in server 102, the received packets are forwarded to imagehandling program 104 which extracts the image data from the packets,determines that the thumbnail was entirely received and then instructsserver software 106 to terminate the upload. In some embodiments of theinvention, due to the method in which the file is divided into packets,the uploaded portion of the file typically includes portions of the filenot needed by image handling program 104, such as a portion of theactual full scale image. It is also noted that after the termination ofthe upload another image may be immediately uploaded by the user, butthis is not necessary and it is expected that in many cases after thetermination of the upload, the upload bandwidth from client computer 110in the direction of server 102 will be at least partially idle for morethan 1.0 seconds, more than 30 seconds or even more than a minute afterthe upload is terminated.

Alternatively to stopping the upload based on a determination that theentire thumbnail was received, a time by which the thumbnail will havebeen completely received may be estimated. For example, handling program104 or server software 106 may stop the upload after a predeterminedtime and/or after receiving a predetermined amount of data, which isexpected to include the entire thumbnail. In some embodiments of theinvention, the upload termination is performed only after it wasdetermined that the file actually includes a thumbnail. If, however, thetermination was premature, server software 106 optionally instructsclient software 114 to resend the file.

It is noted that in a single session the user may consecutively upload aplurality of images in accordance with the above methods.

Other Upload Methods

Alternatively to uploading the file in response to a request from server102, the file may be provided at the initiative of the client or user,without being preceded by a server instruction. For example, the filemay be transmitted in an MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) message, anemail or using any other communication protocol.

In some embodiments of the invention, when the file is transmitted as anattachment to an email message, the termination is performed bydisconnecting the connection and results in an error message notifyingthe client that the email message was not properly received. Optionally,the user is notified in advance, or together with the processingresults, that the error message should be ignored, as the requiredinformation was received. Alternatively, the email client on clientcomputer 110 is changed to identify cases in which the transmission wasterminated because the thumbnail was received, for example based on ashort message from the server, and in such cases does not display anerror message to the user.

Optionally, the termination of the email is performed at server 102,which hosts image handling program 104. In accordance with this option,the premature termination of the upload may not reduce the load on theclient computer 110, but still reduces the load on server 102. In otherembodiments of the invention, the termination of the email is performedat an email server receiving the email from client computer 110, andaccordingly the load on client computer 110, and the transmission timetherefrom, is reduced.

Client Controlled Operation

Alternatively to the stopping of the upload being performed by serversoftware 106, the stopping of the upload is performed by client software114. Optionally, in the instruction to upload the file, client software114 is also provided a termination time of the upload and/or a limit onthe length of the file that is to be uploaded. The instructions areoptionally provided to client software 114 in a JavaScript or a flashmodule which does no breach the security rules of web browsers andoptionally operates in a manner transparent to the user of clientcomputer 110. In some embodiments of the invention, when the upload ofthe file begins, the JavaScript or flash module begins a count-down, atthe end of which the upload is terminated by client software 114.Alternatively, client software 114 counts the transmitted data bytes andwhen a predetermined amount is reached, the upload is terminated.Optionally, at the beginning of the upload, client software 114 notifiesserver software 106 that it will be terminating the upload in themiddle.

In some embodiments of the invention, the time and/or number of bytes isselected such that the thumbnail will always or nearly always have beenuploaded when the upload is terminated. If, however, the termination waspremature, or the file does not include a thumbnail at all, serversoftware 106 may instruct client software 114 to resend the file.

Using a standard web browser, which does not examine the contents offiles it handles and does not differentiate between different types offiles, beyond their names and perhaps suffix, has the advantage that noadditional installation on the client is required to implement acts inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. Nonetheless, insome embodiments of the invention, client software 114 is dedicatedsoftware configured to handle image files differently from non-imagefiles. In some embodiments of the invention, in accordance with thisalternative, client software 114 reviews the transmitted file and stopsthe upload after the transmission of the thumbnail was completed. Clientsoftware 114 may be a program installed on client computer 110 or may bean applet, e.g., Mozilla plugin, activeX or Java applet, or AddOn, suchas a FireFox AddOn or a toolbar (e.g., browser toolbar). The applet orAddOn may be downloaded from server software 106 upon establishment of aconnection or may be provided at any other suitable time.

Complete Upload

Instead of stopping the upload once the thumbnail is received, theupload may continue in parallel to passing the thumbnail to imagehandling program 104. The upload of the file optionally continues in thebackground, while the user interacts with server 102 as if the image wasuploaded in its entirety. In some embodiments of the invention, if theuser attempts to upload an additional image, the complete upload ofimages for which a thumbnail was already uploaded is postponed or evencancelled. Image handling program 104 optionally performs its processingon the thumbnail and provides results accordingly. For example, whenimage handling program 104 performs an image comparison, program 104optionally performs its comparison based on the thumbnail and providesthe comparison results to the user before the upload of the entire imageis completed. When the entire image is finally received, the comparisonmay be repeated to fine tune the results. Alternatively or additionally,image handling program 104 displays the uploaded thumbnail to the userand/or to other users, for example by placing the thumbnail on a webpage or emailing it, before the upload of the entire image is completed.

Thumbnail in Middle or at End

While the above description relates to files in which the thumbnail isin the beginning of the file, there may be cases in which the thumbnailis in the middle or at the end of the file. Optionally, in such cases,the server requests from the client to upload only a middle or endingportion of the file. For example, if upon receiving a first packet ofthe file the server determines that the file has a thumbnail at the end,the server determines from the first packet the length of the file andaccordingly requests that the client transmit a portion at the end ofthe file estimated to include the thumbnail.

Other Multimedia

In the above description, time saving was achieved by continuing theserver operation as if the entire image was uploaded, upon receiving thethumbnail. Similar procedures may be used for other uploaded filesand/or other multimedia partial portions. For example, in uploadingimages, low resolution images other than thumbnails may be used, forimage files of other formats. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, images are provided in a layer format and the server extractsthe lowest layer and proceeds as if the entire image was received.

In some embodiments of the invention, in uploading a video file theupload is stopped after a predetermined time or amount of data isreceived. For example, the upload may be stopped after a predeterminednumber of frames and/or a specific length of audio data is received. Theserver may then extract from the uploaded portion a representative frameand/or audio segment to be used by a video handling process, for examplefor searching for similar video files. The predetermined portion may berelatively short if the video stream includes a representative snapshotin its header and/or if the first frame may be used. In some embodimentsof the invention, a longer portion may be uploaded, for exampleincluding more than 10 frames, 50 frames or even more than 100 frames,to allow for finding a good representative frame or severalsubstantially different representative frames in the uploaded portion.Optionally, however, the portion may be kept short, for exampleincluding fewer than 200, fewer than 100 or even fewer than 50 frames,in order to limit the upload time.

Server 102 optionally examines the uploaded portion and extractstherefrom a representative frame. Various characteristics which qualifya frame as being representative may be used, for example a frame similarto a plurality of other frames in the video stream and/or a frame whichhas a large spatial diversity (e.g., not a mere view of a clear sky).Alternatively or additionally, a frame qualifies as being representativeif it shows specific objects, such as a person. Alternatively oradditionally to extracting a representative frame or several frames,representative audio signals may be extracted from the uploaded portion.The representative portion may be used, for example in searching forsimilar video files. In some embodiments of the invention, the search isperformed solely by an audio segment, as it is expected that a similarvideo file will have the same audio portions and it is easier to performa comparison only on the audio portions.

In some embodiments of the invention, rather than uploading a portion ofa predetermined size, server 102 may examine the video frames as theyare uploaded and determine to stop the upload, when the received contentis sufficient. The size of the uploaded portion may also depend on thesize of the entire video file. Large files may be represented by largerportions than smaller files.

While the upload may include only a single consecutive portion of thefile, in some embodiments of the invention, the server instructs theclient to upload a plurality of disjoint portions, in order to collectframes from different scenes of the video movie in the file. Optionally,each time the server instructs the client to skip to a letter segment ofthe file, the server continues the upload until an Intra frame (I-frame)is received. Once the I-frame is received, the server jumps to a laterportion of the file.

CONCLUSION

It is noted that the present invention is not limited to a client-serversetup, but rather may also be used in a peer to peer upload scenario.

It will be appreciated that the above described methods may be varied inmany ways, including, changing the order of steps, and/or performing aplurality of steps concurrently. It will also be appreciated that theabove described description of methods and apparatus are to beinterpreted as including apparatus for carrying out the methods andmethods of using the apparatus. The present invention has been describedusing non-limiting detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that areprovided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention. Many specific implementation details may be used.

It should be understood that features and/or steps described withrespect to one embodiment may sometimes be used with other embodimentsand that not all embodiments of the invention have all of the featuresand/or steps shown in a particular figure or described with respect toone of the specific embodiments.

It is noted that some of the above described embodiments may describethe best mode contemplated by the inventors and therefore may includestructure, acts or details of structures and acts that may not beessential to the invention and which are described as examples.Structure and acts described herein are replaceable by equivalents whichperform the same function, even if the structure or acts are different,as known in the art. Variations of embodiments described will occur topersons of the art. Therefore, the scope of the invention is limitedonly by the elements and limitations as used in the claims, wherein theterms “comprise,” “include,” “have” and their conjugates, shall mean,when used in the claims, “including but not necessarily limited to.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: at a first computer system:receiving, during a continuous uploading event, an incoming stream ofpackets sent by a second computer system, wherein the packets aregenerated from a media file comprising both at least one image and atleast thumbnail image of said at least one image, wherein the at leastone image is encoded according to a file format of the media file, andwherein packets generated from the at least one thumbnail image of theat one image and packets generated from the at least one image of themedia file are transmitted to the first computer system; extracting theat least one thumbnail image of the at least one image of the mediafile, from one or more of the incoming packets, during the continuousuploading event of said at least one image of the media file and beforeall the packets of the incoming stream are received; and displaying theat least one thumbnail image of the least one image during thecontinuous uploading event of said at least one image the media file,before all the packets of the incoming stream are received at the firstcomputer system.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein displayingthe thumbnail image comprises displaying the thumbnail image within aweb page provided by the first computer system to the second computersystem.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said extracting isheld before completing entirely the uploading of said at least one imageby the first computer system.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein said second computer system is at least one server.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the at one thumbnail image isstored in an intended field of said media file.
 6. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the intended field is in a header of said mediafile.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the extracting isperformed in response to receiving a notification from the secondcomputer system.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein theextracting comprises determining that a number of bytes expected toinclude the thumbnail image.
 9. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe extracting comprises determining that the transmission was carriedout over a period sufficient to include the entire thumbnail image. 10.The method according to claim 1, wherein the extracting is performed bythe first computer system examining a content of the received packets.11. The method of claim 1, further comprising searching for imagessimilar to the at least one image, in an image database.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 11, wherein said images similar to the at least oneimage comprise a plurality of similar, but not identical, media files.13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising stopping thetransmission of the media file responsive to the completion of theextracting.
 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein, wherein thetransmitted at least one thumbnail image of the at least one image isfurther processed by said first computer system and appears as whenprocessing of the media file in its entirety.
 15. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving said thumbnailimage within said media file without any separate indication to indicatesaid thumbnail image.
 16. The method according to claim 1, wherein thereceiving comprises receiving less than 10% of the media file.
 17. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receivingpackets including an entire thumbnail of said at least one thumbnailtogether with a portion of an actual image.
 18. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving and reviewing saidincoming stream of packets to identify whether a header of said mediafile includes said thumbnail image in an intended field.
 19. A computersystem, comprising: a network interface adapted to receive during acontinuous uploading event an incoming stream of packets sent by atleast one server, wherein the packets are generated from a media filecomprising both at least one image and at least thumbnail image of saidat least one image, wherein the at least one image is encoded accordingto a file format of the media file, and wherein packets generated fromthe at least one thumbnail image of the at one image and packetsgenerated from the at least one image of the media file are transmittedto the computer device; a processing unit adapted to extract the atleast one thumbnail image of the at least one image of the media file,from one or more of the incoming packets, during the continuousuploading event of said at least one image of the media file and beforeall the packets of the incoming stream are received; and a displayadapted to display the at least one thumbnail image of the least oneimage during the continuous uploading event of said at least one imagethe media file, before all the packets of the incoming stream arereceived.
 20. A method comprising: receiving, at a first computer, anincoming stream of packets sent by a second computer, wherein thepackets are generated from media file comprising at least one image andat least one thumbnail image of said at least one image, wherein the atleast one image is encoded according to a file format of the media file,and wherein packets generated from the at least one thumbnail image ofthe at least one image and packets generated from the at least one imageof the media file are transmitted to the first computer; extracting, bythe first computer, the at least one thumbnail image of the least oneimage of the media file, from one or more of the incoming packets, saidextraction is conducted in parallel to the receiving of said at leastone image, before all the packets are received and before completingentirely the reception of said at least one image; and transmitting, bythe first computer, the at least one thumbnail image to a second or athird computer, said transmitting is conducted in parallel to thereceiving of said at least one image and before all the packets of theincoming stream are received at the first computer, wherein the at leastone thumbnail image is in a format usable for presenting by the secondor the third computer.